When rap came out 30 years ago I thought it was just a fad

Hey, ps, how about you quit taking cheap shops and actually address the points that have been made?  Show us some rap songs that are musical (I know a few are out there--I've heard some Snoop Dogg and Kanye tracks that have interesting things going in the background).  Make a case.  Don't just call us old and out of touch.  I've been hearing rap since it hit the airwaves and am certainly entitled to an opinion.  Most of it sounds to me like rope-jumping rhymes with an ultra-simplistic percussion track.  Stick your neck out, show us where we're wrong.  Otherwise you're standing by the side of the road throwing rocks at cars and then running for cover.

PS's comments are totally appropriate in light of what others have posted in this thread.

Tostadosunidos, if music is organized patterns of rhythm, harmony and melody (well a minimum of two out of three), is it at least a possibility that you simply might not have the knowledge to understand how the musicians are using these elements?  With all due respect, while you are engaging in a discourse you seem to have closed your mind on the subject.

Still interested in how you define rock and roll.

BTW, didn't western civilization start to decline during the heavy metal years?

I'm quite surprised that no one has mentioned Gil Scott-Heron, as he was clearly a very powerful, early influence on the genre. And if you think that rap is all about "thugs", or that rap artists aren't musicians, then you haven't listened to Scott-Heron.

For those who are interested, try "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" and "In the Bottle".

" it is now just real crap / by thugs .....with one step in and out of prison ''  It NEVER was any good and 30 years from now ...no 5 years from now, do you think that you will be listening to any of the, for a lack of any better words ; songs that are being played now ???? I think not  - can't say that about ' Miles Davis, Frank Sinatra , Louis Armstrong, Ray Charles, The Allman  Brothers, The Band, The Beatles  ...that list goes on.  I am amazed that crap is still around

The common denominator that ties the vast majority of the harsh critics – like garebear above – is that they lump all rap artists together.

That alone underscores that their opinions stem from ignorance.

Don’t misunderstand: everyone is of course free to express their opinions, and it is perfectly reasonable to dislike the genre. But dismissing it with a disdainful wave of the hand is simply ignorant.